Lilli Tagger reaches the final in Prague after victory over Grand Slam winner Krejcikova

In contrast to her clear quarterfinal victory against the number-three-seeded Czech Sara Bejlek, Tagger had her hands full against Krejcikova but proved her resilience. Both a further-improved serve and crushing groundstrokes made little difference compared to the tournament's number two over long stretches.

First set: Strong start, narrow ending

Tagger opened the first set strongly: she won her first three service games to love, having previously broken serve to take a 3:2 lead in the first break of the match. In the fifth game, Tagger faced 0:40 and later had a total of four break points before the 30-year-old Krejcikova mounted a comeback. It went to 4:4 before the favourite prevailed 7:5 after 59 minutes.

The second set was more evenly contested: initially both players dropped serve, and at 3:3 the match was level again. Krejcikova's loss of serve – the Wimbledon winner – which made it 4:2 in Taggers favour was decisive in the second set. Following a break to 4:2, which Krejcikova "gifted" her with a double fault at 15:40, Tagger served deservedly for 6:3 and level the match.

Decision in the tiebreak

Tagger began the third set with an immediate break, but allowed her 2:0 lead to slip away. Tagger subsequently led 5:3 but was unable to serve out the set at 5:4. Krejcikova managed to break back to 5:5, and the set went into a tiebreak.

With breaks by both players, the decisive set continued in exciting fashion: in the fifth game the Czech woman saved four break points and held for 3:2. At 5:6 Tagger served to avoid defeat and kept her nerve; the decision, as in the first set, had to be made in a tiebreak.

It remained a question of nerves and endurance – and there Tagger had the upper hand: with her first match point at 6:4 in the tiebreak, she closed it out after 2 hours and 52 minutes. With that, the last Austrian remaining in the tournament, which carried prize money of $100,000, departed.

Taggers reaction to the victory

"It was an incredible fight, she played great tennis. I am super happy," Tagger said in her on-court interview. "I saw her three weeks ago at Wimbledon and was a bit nervous before the match," she admitted. "Last week she played with me, and I learned a lot," Tagger explained. "Now it has happened, it's a dream," she said according to ORF.

In November 2025, Tagger reached a final in Jiujiang, but lost it against Anna Blinkova 3:6, 3:6. At that time, she had also battled through strong opposition, only to lack experience in the final. Now the Austrian gets her chance for redemption.

Final opponent Snigur

In the battle for the title of the hard-court event, which carries total prize money of $283,347, the 24-year-old Ukrainian Daria Snigur awaits on Sunday. Snigur prevailed in the other semifinal against the Czech Tereza Valentova 7:6(7/4), 6:3 and thus booked her place in the final.

Through reaching the final alone, Tagger improved in the WTA ranking from 74th to at least 52nd place. On her way to the semifinal, she had also defeated Sara Bejlek, the world number 40, and is likely to climb to around 60th place in the world rankings published on Monday. As the best Austrian, Anastasia Potapova remains at 27th.

Against Bejlek, Tagger had suffered a clear 2:6, 2:6 defeat in the round of 16 in Athens just over a week earlier. This makes the young East Tyrolean's improvement in form within just a few days all the more remarkable. With her consistent playing style and improved serve, she set the decisive accents this time.

Outlook on the final

The 18-year-old from Lienz, who plays for TC Raiffeisen Dornbirn in the Austrian Bundesliga, looks back on a remarkable season. By reaching the final in Prague, she has made a big leap not only in sporting terms but also in the rankings. The coming weeks will show whether she can carry this momentum into further tournaments.

Before the final, Tagger was composed: "I simply want to gain more experience at this level," she said after the semifinal. Expectations on the young player have risen after her recent results – not least because she defeated a top player in Krejcikova who was in the spotlight.